SDG 2.3.1 – LABOR PRODUCTIVITY OF SMALL-SCALE FOOD PRODUCERS: EVIDENCE FROM THE 2022 SURVEY ON COSTS AND RETURNS OF PALAY PRODUCTION
Conference
10th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics
Format: CPS Abstract - ICAS 2026
Keywords: sdgs
Abstract
The Sustainable Development Goal 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, targets by 2023 to double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment. Specific indicator under this goal is the volume of production per labor unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size or SDG 2.3.1. This indicator measures the quantity that can be produced per labor unit. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines small-scale farm producers as those falling in the intersection of the bottom forty percent of the cumulative distribution of land, livestock and revenues.
This study aims to present the methodology for computing the labor productivity of small-scale palay farm producers in the Philippines using the data from the 2022 Survey on Costs and Returns (SCR) of Palay Production. SCR of Palay Production generates data on the cost structure of palay production and average use of materials and labor inputs, measures of profitability, and other socio-economic characteristics of palay farming in the country.
The variables of the study are limited to the data on gross returns, total cost, physical area, and mandays of household palay producers. The computation of the SDG indicator 2.3.1 follows the concepts and methodology of FAO.
The findings contribute to the empirical evidence on small-scale farm productivity and its alignment with SDG Target 2.3. They also point to the importance of further studies that examine the determinants of labor productivity as well as the effectiveness of government policies and interventions aimed at supporting small-scale palay producers in the Philippines.
Keywords: small-scale farm producers, labor productivity, palay production, SDG 2.3.1